Hazel Young, a senior on the Landmark Christian Eagles varsity girls soccer team, finished her soccer career as an All-American and a four-time national champion.
A resident of Wilmington, Young and the Eagles won the Div. I National Homeschool Soccer Championship in Evansville, Ind. with a 4-0 record. Landmark Christian scored 20 goals and allowed just 1. Young was the second leading scorer on her team.
Landmark Christian finished the year with a 16-3-1 record.
A four-year starter at sweeper, Young was the anchor of the defense that allowed “a handful of goals in four years,” according to a press release from Landmark Christian soccer.
“Hazel not only led the team on defense but she has a huge leg and her kicks had such distance they often allowed the team to transition into an immediate attack,” said Landmark Christian coach Rusty Young, Hazel’s father. “She also worked hard on free kicks where she often scored, penalty kicks which she never missed in her last two years and corner kicks where she became somewhat of a specialist and scored several goals directly from the kick as well as a multitude of assists.”
Young was team captain and was selected to play in the senior All-Star game for the Greater Cincinnati area during the Mason pre-season tournament. She was voted Landmark Christian MVP by her teammates and coaches for the 2016 season. She was named to the National All-Star team at the Homeschool Soccer Championship tournament.
Young also was named to National Christian School Athletic Association All-America first team as a defender. She was also named to the Northeast Super-Regional Team.
“I have never been the coach that is easy on his own kid,” Rusty Young said. “In fact, I am sure that I am tougher on my daughter than any other player and ,because of that, I can tell you that Hazel has had no breaks. She has worked hard to become what I believe is a great player. She can do many things on a soccer field with the ball but that is not what makes her great. She loves the game and she never, ever quits. She figured out how to make all the players around her play with the same mindset, and she does everything she can to make them better. That’s what makes her great.”
The Landmark Christian Lady Eagles is comprised mainly of homeschool girls from the southwest Ohio area. Under coach Young the program has grown tremendously. He has taken a program that only had 15 players seven years ago and now consistently carries near 40 players on the reserve and varsity rosters. Young has a 134-23-9 record and six national championships as the head coach of the Lady Eagles.
